An Unacceptable Time
Anaral stretched her hands out towards me but did not touch me. "We will always be friends."
"Always," I said.
"And Klep and I will hold you in our hearts."
"You will be in mine."
"The lines of love cross time and space." But a tear slid down Anaral's cheek. Truth to tell, my cheeks were wet too.
Karralys turned towards me, took both my hands in his. "We will never forget you."
I swallow. "Nor I you."
"And, Bishop Heron, when you came to us through the time gate you started it all."
The bishop smiled. "I, Karralys? Oh, I think not."
At the entrance to the tent, Og barked impatiently.
Karralys stroked Og's head, then said, "I will send Og with you, Polly. You and your grandparents have need of a good guardian dog, and Og is that."
Again Og barked, imperiously.
"Come." Bishop Colubra led the way out of the tent. I followed him, and Og nudged his cold nose into my hand. Behind us, the lake shimmered. The white peaks of the mountains reached sharply into the sky. I keep pace with the Bishop. I'm too exhausted to run ahead, though the pull of home is strong to me. A part of me is eager to tell my parents that I finally had one of their adventures, but I also wonder if I should tell them. They might not be happy when they find out.
But I wanted to see them, I realized. So much. The pull of home was not only to my grandparents' house, but also back to Benne Seed Island, and Meg and Calvin O'Keefe's welcome.
When we reached the stone wall, I looked for Louise the Larger lying in the warm splash of sunlight, but I couldn't find her. I frowned, then looked around. The strange feeling in the pit of my stomach deepened. The trees had changed, but they weren't the trees of my time. There was no Grandfather Oak sheltering its offspring.
"This isn't right," I muttered. I turned towards Bishop Colubra, and my heart jumped when I realized that he wasn't there. Nor was Og. Nor was the stone wall anymore. I was standing alone, in a grove of palm trees, overlooking a sandy beach and a tropical sea.
I stepped into the sun and looked around. In the sudden loneliness, I found myself counting my breaths, willing myself to keep calm.
The most important thing is not to panic, I thought. And hearing those words in my head filled me with dread. When you hear those words, that's when you know you're really in trouble.
I took a deep breath, held it, then let it out slowly. "Where am I, now?"
[[OOC: Polly has materialized near Shari's Dock. First tagger gets to explain the rules while he or she takes her to the compound; everybody else can see Polly wandering around outside the Compound, looking bewildered, and introduce themselves]]
"Always," I said.
"And Klep and I will hold you in our hearts."
"You will be in mine."
"The lines of love cross time and space." But a tear slid down Anaral's cheek. Truth to tell, my cheeks were wet too.
Karralys turned towards me, took both my hands in his. "We will never forget you."
I swallow. "Nor I you."
"And, Bishop Heron, when you came to us through the time gate you started it all."
The bishop smiled. "I, Karralys? Oh, I think not."
At the entrance to the tent, Og barked impatiently.
Karralys stroked Og's head, then said, "I will send Og with you, Polly. You and your grandparents have need of a good guardian dog, and Og is that."
Again Og barked, imperiously.
"Come." Bishop Colubra led the way out of the tent. I followed him, and Og nudged his cold nose into my hand. Behind us, the lake shimmered. The white peaks of the mountains reached sharply into the sky. I keep pace with the Bishop. I'm too exhausted to run ahead, though the pull of home is strong to me. A part of me is eager to tell my parents that I finally had one of their adventures, but I also wonder if I should tell them. They might not be happy when they find out.
But I wanted to see them, I realized. So much. The pull of home was not only to my grandparents' house, but also back to Benne Seed Island, and Meg and Calvin O'Keefe's welcome.
When we reached the stone wall, I looked for Louise the Larger lying in the warm splash of sunlight, but I couldn't find her. I frowned, then looked around. The strange feeling in the pit of my stomach deepened. The trees had changed, but they weren't the trees of my time. There was no Grandfather Oak sheltering its offspring.
"This isn't right," I muttered. I turned towards Bishop Colubra, and my heart jumped when I realized that he wasn't there. Nor was Og. Nor was the stone wall anymore. I was standing alone, in a grove of palm trees, overlooking a sandy beach and a tropical sea.
I stepped into the sun and looked around. In the sudden loneliness, I found myself counting my breaths, willing myself to keep calm.
The most important thing is not to panic, I thought. And hearing those words in my head filled me with dread. When you hear those words, that's when you know you're really in trouble.
I took a deep breath, held it, then let it out slowly. "Where am I, now?"
[[OOC: Polly has materialized near Shari's Dock. First tagger gets to explain the rules while he or she takes her to the compound; everybody else can see Polly wandering around outside the Compound, looking bewildered, and introduce themselves]]